Profession

Christopher Stephens, the new Chairman  of the Judical Appointments Commission, talks to Counsel’s David Wurzel about the Commission’s aims and his role.  

“I arrived knowing very little in February”, Christopher Stephens, the new Chairman of the Judicial Appointments Commission (the “JAC”) confessed when I met him in September. Since then, he says, “I have learned my way through your profession”. He did however have a head start in respect of recommending people for appointments:  before becoming a Civil Service Commissioner and a member of the Senior Salaries Review Board he spent 30 years in Human Resources. 

James Woolf explains the role of the Bar Council’s Ethical Enquiries Service . 

“I’m pretty sure that I know the answer to this, but I’d just like to run it by you.” With this line or something similar begin many of the calls handled by the Bar Council’s Ethical Enquiries Line. Perhaps this should not be surprising, as part of the purpose of the service is to provide a safety net for the profession, a sounding board if you like for barristers who find themselves in those knotty situations which clearly engage the Code of Conduct.  

A look at the Bar Standards Board’s Clementi Debate on Continuing Professional Development - and the views of those who took part.  

The need for barristers to do Continuing Professional Development (“CPD”) was noted as long ago as the Ormrod Committee in 1971. It finally became compulsory for all in 2005. Things have moved more rapidly since then. In January 2010, Derek Wood CBE QC and his Working Group embarked on an inquiry into CPD as the third and final part of the Bar Standards Board’s (“BSB”) review of all stages of education and training for the Bar. In May 2011 it reported. Next has been the consultation process on the recommendations of the report. 

The Bar is changing. Toby Craig of the Bar Council looks at how the Bar is having to adapt to meet these changes.  

A modern Bar prides itself on its values and on high quality, well trained, specialist advocacy. Its product is second-to-none. It is a small profession; a cadre. Barristers are very good value, highly mobile and can provide relevant and realistic advice to their clients. However, as with so much in life, it is one thing having a good product; it is another to sell it. Good work will not alone speak for itself. Effective marketing, and ensuring that the sales pitch is responding to a rapidly changing clientele of varying sophistication, is essential. 

The Conference is open to barristers under 10 years’ Call, pupils and BPTC students. A Conference brochure and registration form will be available from mid-August. Places will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis so early booking is advisable.  

Stephen Cobb QC looks at The Family Justice Review and the refreshingly positive view it takes of Family lawyers, and considers its implications

Every year, half a million people are involved in the family justice system, turning to it in times of great stress and conflict. But it is a system under great strain, with “shocking” delays in the resolution of cases (“little short of scandalous”); this is one of the key findings of the Family Justice Review (FJR) panel, chaired by David Norgrove, which has recently published its Interim Report. 

Adam Sampson, Chief Legal Ombudsman, discusses setting up the Legal Ombudsman scheme and the issues arising when familiarising 300 new staff members with the “inns” and outs of the Bar.   

One of the difficulties in setting up the new Legal Ombudsman scheme has been to try to make sure that all of our 300 staff - all recently recruited, and mostly from outside the legal profession - have a good grasp of the nuances of the legal world. 

As the TUC marched against public services cuts they were joined by barristers from several chambers including members of Tooks Chambers. Catherine Rayner and Rebecca Chapman asked them why.  

The TUC demonstration against cuts to public services attracted hundreds of thousands of members of the public onto the streets on Saturday 26 March.  Amongst the union banners and banners for voluntary organisations and community groups, was a black banner with gold figure holding a sword and a pair of broken scales in her hands. Justice was on the march. 

The inaugural Bloomsbury Art Fair is being held this month. Michael Bowes QC and Christine Kings explain the background to the Art Fair and Outer Temple Chambers’ involvement in it.  

Outer Temple Chambers’ personal injury practitioners work regularly with victims of catastrophic injury. They witness the devastating effects of a spinal cord injury and the realities of life in a wheelchair. Many people who find themselves in a wheelchair confront this new future with bravery. A few go on to change the world around them and they are the inspiration for the Bloomsbury Art Fair. 

The Big Voice project is widening participation at the Bar and opening up the legal profession as a career to a broader range of young people. Sarwan Singh explains how. 

Big Voice 2011 is a year long programme of regular evening sessions closely supported by the Supreme Court with the aim of providing legal education to disadvantaged teenagers in an attempt to enhance young people’s understanding of the legal profession, legal access and the court systems in the UK. The project seeks to empower young people who may feel distanced from the world of courts and lawyers and those who take part are divided into three groups, political agency, legal agency and equality and diversity.